Granderson’s Return Steps to the Side of the Yankees’ Comeback Victory

Robinson Cano’s two-run double in the seventh tied the score, 3-3, and later in the inning, the Yankees took the lead for good over the Seattle Mariners.

Barton Silverman / The New York Times

By JORGE ARANGURE Jr.

May 15, 2013

The Yankees have cobbled together a first-place team with an offense of spare parts, a Frankenstein roster of sorts, while several of their stars are on the disabled list.

Yet it seemed unlikely the Yankees could survive all season with a lineup full of castoffs, so the return of Curtis Granderson on Tuesday was welcomed.

Manager Joe Girardi said before the game that he was excited to see Granderson, who had yet to play this season while recovering from a fractured forearm sustained in his first at-bat of spring training. Granderson gives the Yankees a legitimate power threat, a 40-plus homer outfielder who can bat cleanup.

Granderson played only a small part in the Yankees’ 4-3 comeback win against the Seattle Mariners at Yankee Stadium. At times he appeared rusty, but that may have been because of the Seattle ace Felix Hernandez, who can often make hitters look overmatched. Granderson was also in an unfamiliar position, left field, where he had not played since 2007, but where Girardi said he would mostly play for the time being.

Granderson was 0 for 3 with a strikeout, and he grounded into a double play, although his walk in the seventh helped a three-run rally that was keyed by Robinson Cano’s two-run double and Lyle Overbay’s sacrifice fly.

“It was one of those things where the first days is always interesting no matter how good or bad you feel leading up to then,” Granderson said. “The first day is always a little bit different. No matter who happens to be pitching out there, obviously, Felix is one of the best guys, is still a very interesting day at the plate.”

Granderson’s return signaled the start of what the Yankees hope will be normalcy. Soon the Yankees will also get back infielder Kevin Youkilis (back), with first baseman Mark Teixeira (wrist) not far behind. The Yankees’ lineup will start to resemble, well, a Yankees lineup.

It is too soon to start thinking about the status of Alex Rodriguez (hip) or Derek Jeter (ankle), but Granderson’s return was the first step.

“I didn’t think he chased many pitches,” Girardi said of Granderson. “To not chase pitches against Felix is pretty good. I was pretty happy with what I saw.”

On Tuesday, the Yankees’ offense was dormant until Hernandez, a former Cy Young winner, left the game after the sixth inning with a back injury. In eight career starts at Yankee Stadium, Hernandez, who left with a 3-1 lead, has a 2.01 earned run average.

Hernandez’s injury shortened an intriguing matchup of pitchers who have learned to throw without having the same fastball from their younger years. C. C. Sabathia’s loss of velocity has been well documented. Hernandez has also had a drop.

This season, entering Tuesday’s game, Hernandez averaged 92 miles per hour on his fastball, 1 m.p.h. less than last season, and 3 m.p.h. less than his Cy Young season in 2010. He has adjusted by throwing the fastball less, and his changeup more.

“His changeup is so late-breaking, and it looks just like his fastball,” Overbay said. “He just doesn’t make many mistakes.”

The Yankees scored a run against Hernandez in the sixth on Overbay’s double to right. Earlier in the inning, though, Hernandez hurt himself. After nabbing Cano with a throw to second base, Hernandez grimaced and limped around for a few moments. The team trainer, along with Manager Eric Wedge, came out to visit Hernandez, but he stayed in the game. Still, he did not come out for the seventh inning despite having thrown only 97 pitches.

Sabathia, who allowed three runs in six and a third innings, had his own struggles. The Mariners had at least two base runners in the second, third, fourth, sixth and seventh innings against him. Seattle scored a run in the third when center fielder Michael Saunders reached base on first baseman Overbay’s error and scored on Kyle Seager’s double.

In the sixth, Sabathia faced the Yankees’ 2012 postseason star Raul Ibanez, who lined a ball just over the right-field wall for a two-run homer to give the Mariners a 3-0 lead.

But the lead would not last. The Yankees powered a comeback and, for a night, started to resemble a team on the mend.

INSIDE PITCH

The former Mets outfielder Jason Bay returned to New York for the first time since joining the Mariners. Bay entered Tuesday’s game with an .813 on-base plus slugging percentage while playing in a part-time role. In three years with the Mets, he had a lowly .687 O.P.S. and was considered a disappointment after having signed a four-year, $66 million deal in 2010. The Mets are still responsible for the $21 million Bay is scheduled to earn this season. “It wasn’t anybody’s fault but mine,” Bay said of his failure with the Mets. “I wish I had done better.” ... Travis Hafner’s magnetic resonance imaging test on his sore right shoulder revealed only tendinitis. He is expected to be able to play in a couple of days.